Join a gym, eat more vegetables, get a promotion…paint the living room? The beginning of a new year often centers on changes and improvements, but typically the focus is on ourselves—our health, our relationships, our jobs. When writing our list of resolutions, we tend to forget one of the most important parts of ourselves: our homes.

Regardless of whether we have a good day or a bad day, our home is where we spend our time. The environment we live in is critical to our success, so why not give the apartment a few updates this year? Try these “home improvements” to start 2015 feeling fresh, recharged, and ready to take on your resolutions.

Source: HGTV

Move it around
One of the easiest, quickest ways to change your environment is rearranging your furniture. Maybe try a new angle for your bed, move your couches around or try creating feng shui in your living room.

Update the color
It may be time to try a new color on your walls—look into fun removable wallpaper, find a new paint shade or create an accent wall. Pick a color or design that will give you energy.

Add some new pops of color
If you’re not ready for new colors on your wall, add pops of color where you can. Adding a new rug, bringing in some exotic plants, or finding fun throws and pillows are easy color additions.

Change the little details
If you’re looking for even smaller changes, find the little details in your apartment. Replace the knobs on your dressers or kitchen cabinets, find new prints for your wall decor, or swap in new photos for your frames.

Expand the space
Similar to adding new details, you can update your apartment by removing details to create space. End the year by de-cluttering unnecessary items or collecting donations for your local Goodwill. You can also expand the space in your rooms with new mirrors.

We’re getting in the holiday spirit this December! It’s time to decorate the home, prepare for holiday entertaining, and give back to others. Here’s what’s going on around the city to help spread holiday cheer.

The Lyric
Time to break out the mistletoes, twinkle lights, and ribbon! It’s time to deck your halls with holiday cheer—check out these easy and creative DIY projects to get you inspired.

Stadium Place
We joined with Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to help ensure every child has something to unwrap this holiday season. To wrap up our toy drive, we invited our residents for a pre-game holiday brunch.

The Corydon
Thanks to all of our residents, we were able to collect ten bins full of toys to donate to Toys for Tots local chapter to distribute to children in the Puget Sound area.

The 101 Kirkland
As part of the holiday festivities, we hosted a holiday party for our residents with a four-course catered dinner, holiday drinks, and plenty of eggnog to go around.

If you’re already singing carols on repeat, it means just one thing: time for holiday decorating! Get ready to deck yours halls with some inspiring DIY projects. Here are some of our favorite picks to help get you and your home in the holiday spirit:

For your mantel: Southern Living
Your mantel is the centerpiece of your home, so be sure to give yours a festive makeover. Whether you prefer simple and elegant or colorful and bold, these ideas will make yours pop.

Source: Southern Living

For your tree: HGTV
If you’re celebrating Christmas, you’ll love these creative and quirky themes. Try something new this year by building your tree out of books or wooden logs.

Source: HGTV

For your wreath: Nesting Place
Explore this huge compilation of eclectic, homemade wreath ideas! The list is growing, so you’re sure to find a creative new way to dress your door.

Source: Nesting Place

For your kitchen: Camille Styles
Baking holiday cookies is not only a fun seasonal activity, but an easy way to spread cheer to your friends, co-workers, and family. From elegant sugar cookies to decadent meringues, classic gingerbread to cranberry bars, Camille Styles is sure to impress.

Source: Camille Styles

For your gifts: Martha Stewart
Martha is always a great go-to for holiday inspiration and easy DIY. No matter the gift you’re giving—whether it’s a bottle of wine or toy for a toddler—Martha has beautiful tags to help dress your presents.

Source: Martha Stewart

For your hostess: Style Me Pretty
If your calendar is looking booked with holiday gatherings and soirees, you’ll be in need of some fun hostess gifts. Check out these adorable homemade boxes of goodies.

Source: Style Me Pretty

For quick ideas: Real Simple
If you’re short on time, but big on holiday cheer, Real Simple has you covered. Here are some quick and easy ideas to get your home in the season.

Source: Real Simple

For everything else: Pinterest
Of course you can never go wrong browsing Pinterest. If the projects above were just getting you started, you’ll get lost for hours in the beautiful ideas and creative crafts on Pinterest. Search any idea you like—from snowflakes to twinkle lights to dreidels to candles!

The Thanksgiving leftovers have run out and we’ve already seen snow dust the ground. The holiday season is officially here, so it’s now time to get down to business. First step: holiday shopping. If you’ve been brainstorming gift ideas and you’re ready to attack the holiday craze early, you can begin your gift shopping nearby. Within and around your own neighborhood are the perfect shops to help you cross every name off your gift list.

Stadium Place
Shopping around Pioneer Square is easy—swing by Scotch and Soda, the Seattle Pro Shop or E. Smith Mercantile for perfect finds.

The Lyric
Capitol Hill is full of fun boutiques and shops, including SugarPill, Sweatbox, and Butter Home.

Does your idea of a festive Thanksgiving involve delicious food without the cooking? Well, good news. This year, you can skip the dinner preparation and move right to the meal. Here are some local restaurants where you can gather around the table this Thursday. Now that’s something to be grateful about!

Stadium Place
Bell + Whete, Daily Grill, and Urbane are just a few tasty options this holiday.

The Lyric
Café Flora and Daniel’s Broiler are both close and delicious!

The Century
Interested in a five-course meal? Check out Boka’s amazing Thanksgiving offering.

The Corydon
Agrodolce is among several restaurants serving up traditional flavors.

The 101 Kirkland
Barking Frog and Bin on the Lake are attractive options on the Eastside for your Turkey Day plans.

We all love Thanksgiving. A 4 day weekend. Seahawks vs 49ers on TV. Family and friends all around us. And food. Lots and lots and lots of food.

Before the craziness of Thanksgiving hits (and the subsequent food comas), here are some activities to keep you busy.

The Corydon
Dine Around Seattle is here to help you explore new local restaurants. Work up an appetite!

Stadium Place
Do you want to work at the most exciting property in Seattle, with the best team in the business for a local, family owned company? We don’t mean to lay it on too thick but this is a great opportunity to join the team at The Nolo as a Leasing Specialist.

The 101 Kirkland
Take a moment to give back to others—you can make a difference in the lives of young ones through the Kirkland Nourishing Network.

It’s a proud week for us over here at Pillar Properties. A number of our team members were nominated by the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association for a variety of awards. So congratulations everyone, and thanks for making our communities such a great place to live.

Last week we brought you some recipes to elevate your BBQ to the next level. This week, we have some suggestions for tasty libations. The Puget Sound has some fantastic bartenders, so we rounded up some drinks based on each of our favorite spirits, from some of our favorite localicious neighborhood bars.

Note: Most of these recipes we listed didn’t list measurements for each ingredient. In general, you can start with 1.5oz of the alcohol involved, and distribute the rest to taste. You’ll probably just need a dash of things like bitters, peppers and lime juice, and a little more soda or other fillers. Most of these are meant to be served in a cocktail or martini glass, which only hold 5 – 6 oz total.